Catamount Ski Area

Location	Egremont, Massachusetts / Hillsdale, New York, USA
Nearest major city	Great Barrington, Massachusetts (7.5 Miles), Poughkeepsie, New York (53 Miles), New York, New York (129 Miles), New Haven, Connecticut (83 Miles)
Vertical	1,000 ft (300 m)
Top elevation	2,000 ft (610 m)
Skiable area	119 acres (0.48 km2)
Runs	36
Longest run	Ridge Run To Upper And Lower Promenade 2.5mil
Lift system	8 Lifts, 3 surface lifts, 1 Quad, 2 Triples, 2 Doubles
Terrain parks	3
Snowfall	75"
Website	Catamount Ski Area

Catamount Ski Area is a ski resort located on Mount Fray of the Taconic Mountains in Hillsdale, New York and South Egremont, Massachusetts. It is one of the few remaining family-owned ski areas in New England. Catamount is also one of the largest ski areas in the Berkshire/Taconic Mountains.

History

Fray Mountain was discovered by John (Jack) Falconer Fisher in 1937/38. When Jack was a young man of 16, he earned his pilots license. He would fly over mountains, sculpting trails in his mind as he had a vision of creating either a golf course or a ski area. Jack was from nearby Salisbury, CT and had helped bring to fruition, Lime Rock Race Track and the Salisbury Ski Jump. He had many Scandinavian friends that were ski jumpers and skiers. After talking with his friends he decided to buy a farm (Fray), and called it, Catamount. In 1937/38 Jack and his friends all camped out for the summer at the base of the mountain, creating trails and deciding on a vision for one of the first ski areas in the country. Jack was an architect of the land and a pioneer of the ski industry.

When Catamount opened for business in 1939, with three rope tows, run by a car engine with a bull wheel attached and a rope around it, pulling skier up the hill, it was a success.

Many skiers came up from New York City on the train, as the train run through Hillsdale, New York. When the skiers arrived, there were trucks with hay bails in them, ready and waiting to pick up the skiers and deliver them to Catamount for a day of skiing.

In 1953 Jack married Florence (Flukie) Kendall from New York City, they had two children, Katherine and Barrie. In 1958 she started the ski shop.

The lodge was decorated with two large fireplaces, gravel floor and picnic bench tables for 30 years. It is a family friendly area that has had additions throughout the years, with the Ski Cat Club (Modeled after "Club 10" at Sugarbush, ski area) a racing trail with a race shed for the racers, snow making, four chairlifts, one T-Bar, one J-Bar.

Bill Gilbert and Don Edwards took over management, purchasing Catamount in 1974. Since the change in ownership, many trails and lifts have been added. In addition, snowmaking coverage has been increased from 25 to 98 percent.[1]

In 2006, the summit double chairlift was replaced with a fixed grip quad chairlift.

In May, 2018 the Schaefer family, of Charlemont MA, longtime owners / managers of Berkshire East Mountain Resort purchased Catamount Ski Area. There are several recent upgrades to the resort including the new Catamount Lodge, five new trails, and an increase in overall snowmaking capacity.

Berkshire East Mountain Resort in Charlemont, MA is the sister mountain with access to both resorts through the Berkshire Summit Pass.

Mountain statistics

Elevation

Vertical drop: 1,000 ft (300 m)

Trails

Skiable area: 119 acres (0.48 km²)
36 trails
- 12 novice
- 13 intermediate
- 11 advanced and expert
Longest trail - 2.5 miles (4.0 km) Ridge Run to Upper and Lower Promenade

98% of the acrerage of the trails is covered by snowmaking.

Trail Map


Easiest	More Difficult	Most Difficult and Terrain Parks	Expert (Use Extreme Caution)
Ali's Alley (n)	Catamount	Lower Alley Cat	Catapult (Steepest Run In The Berkshires)(m)
Cat's Meow (n)	Chute	Upper Alley Cat	Lynx (m)(n)
Colonel's Caper	Mountain View	Expressway
Esplanade	On Stage	Lower Glade (m)
Holiday	Race Slope	Sunrise (t)
Kelli's Run	Walter's Way	Panther Park (t)
Kid Cats	Ridge Run	Upper Glade (m)
Lower Promenade	Lower Sidewinder	Off Stage (m)
Upper Promenade	Upper Sidewinder	Terrain Park (t)
SnowSports Learning Area	Turnpike
Bobcat	Upper Turnpike
Birch Cathedral	Fishers Fluke

(m) - trail with moguls most of the time when conditions provide
(t) - terrain park with various jumps and features including rails and boxes
(n) - no snowmaking

Lifts

8 total
- 1 quad chair
- 2 triple chairs
- 2 double chairs
- 3 Wonder Carpets


Surface Lifts	Fixed Grip Triples	Fixed Grip Quads	Fixed Grip Doubles
Wonder Carpet	Meadows Triple	Ridge Quad	Catamount Double
Kid Cats Carpet			Glade Double

Lodges

Main Base Lodge: located at the base of the ski area
Taconic Lodge: temporary lodge located at the bottom of the mountain near the Ridge Quad.

Condominum development

In the coming years, a 126 condominium complex is planned. In addition to the condominiums, additional retail, dining, and recreational facilities are expected to be constructed.

References

"A History of Catamount". February 9, 2007. Archived from the original on February 9, 2007. Retrieved February 9, 2007.

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[1] "A History of Catamount". February 9, 2007. Archived from the original on February 9, 2007. Retrieved February 9, 2007.